Macro Horizons covers the main macroeconomic and policy news events affecting foreign-exchange, fixed income and equity markets around the world, as selected by editors in New York, London and Hong Kong.

WRAP:It’s suddenly become a jittery environment for financial markets. Two days of selloffs on Wall Street left investors in a decidedly worse mood going into the weekend, only to hear news over Saturday and Sunday that sets markets up for more volatility. The conflict in Ukraine has deepened as government troops clashed with pro-Russian forces in the east and Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, gave currency traders a new factor to worry about: the prospect that ECB could act to weaken the euro. So far the response to Mr. Draghi’s unusually strong complaints about the strength of the European currency haven’t forced much of a reaction in markets, but that only sets things up for a game of chicken. It’s as if investors are demanding that the ECB president to put his money where his mouth is, and it’s not clear he has the full support of the rest of the ECB to take actions such as negative interest rates of quantitative easing. That, mixed in with stock market jitters, could make for some interesting market activity in a week that will be interrupted by Easter holidays. (MC)

SINGAPORE: The central bank kept monetary policy steady, despite a sharp slowdown in the economy in the first quarter. The Monetary Authority of Singapore will continue with its policy of gradual, moderate appreciation of the Singapore dollar – its main policy lever — maintaining the same slope and midpoint of the currency trading band.

The decision shows that, with the economy running at full employment, the central bank is more worried about incipient price pressures than the possibility of a domestic slowdown or a hard landing in China – despite the fact that GDP grew just 0.1% on-quarter, sharply down from 6.1% growth in the fourth quarter. In annual terms, growth was mostly steady at 5.1% on-year vs the fourth quarter’s 5.5%. The MAS said the global growth picture should improve this year, boosting Singapore’s trade-dependent economy. (MA)

The prospect of a deeper division of Ukraine and the annexation of its eastern regions by Russia grow by the day. The question is to what degree Ukraine is willing and able to resist Russia’s territorial reach. What’s more, some commentators have wondered what the long-term implications might be for the Baltic states with their large ethnic-Russian populations, especially in light of these countries’ membership of NATO. (AM)

EUROZONE: February industrial production rose 0.2% on the month and 1.7% on the year against expectations of rises of 0.2% and 1.5% respectively.

Euro-zone industrial production ticked up moderately in February, broadly in line with market expectations, while the January month on month change was revised up to no change from a previously reported fall of 0.2%. Although this will be a reassuring report for the European Central Bank’s policymakers, it’s unlikely to prove particularly influential in their decision making. A strong euro and falling inflation are more immediate concerns. (AM)

Asking prices for British houses hit a new high. Year-on-year asking prices showed their biggest rise since October 2007. So far the price rises haven’t triggered a credit boom, but that could be about to change as banks become more willing to extend ever larger loans to buyers and easier terms. (AM)

In line with other indicators, economists are expecting a decent bounce-back in March retail sales, which would help support the argument of those who say that January and February were abnormally affected by inclement weather. (MC)

U.S./EURO ZONE: 2 p.m. EDT. Federal Reserve Governor Daniel Tarullo speaks on a panel along with Bank of France governor Christian Noyer at the Europlace conference in New York.

There’s probably more interest in hearing from Mr. Noyer in this setting, as the European Central Bank seems to be getting closer to taking action to fight deflation and soften an appreciating euro – at least according to the rather pointed comments from ECB President Mario Draghi over the weekend. Mr. Tarullo, on the other hand, is a regulatory expert who rarely weighs in on matter of monetary policy. The problem is that it’s Mr. Tarullo who is on the panel; Mr. Noyer is only moderating it. (MC)

U.K.: 7:01 p.m. EDT (12:01 a.m. Tuesday, London) March British Retail Consortium same store sales [From down 1.0% on the year in February]

The BRC’s same-store sales data had been very strong in January but eased back the following month, while the official retail sales numbers beat expectations for February. But the underlying trend is likely to have remained strong in light of the U.K.’s continuing recovery. (AM)

The RBA kept rates steady at its early-April meeting and reiterated its forward guidance that no change to rates was expected in the foreseeable future. The central bank effectively took further rate cuts off the table at its February meeting and, with a number of indicators showing non-mining sectors of the economy beginning to gain traction, markets are starting to price in a rate increase later this year. The meeting minutes will shed some light on whether the RBA is also beginning to lean in that direction, though the tepid recovery suggests the bank is still far from that point. (MA)

Initial estimates of March exports showed solid growth of 5.2%, a positive sign both for the Korean economy and – given the country’s position as a bellwether for other Asian exporters – for global demand generally. However, February’s initial figures were later revised downward; a significant downward revision to the March data would send a shiver through markets desperate for any sign that G-3 recovery is beginning to feed through to Asia. (MA)